For whatever reason, be it paranoia or in an attempt to besmirch the
Fraternity, there are sometimes 'devils and demons' (or perhaps even those with whom the
accuser does not agree) to whom Masonic membership is attributed -
WRONGLY!

On this page, we'll debunk some of the myths.

Aleister Crowley - "The Great Beast" -
Masonry's detractors make much of the supposed Masonic membership of this
individual whose claims to immoral behavior are the antithesis of all that
Freemasonry holds dear. Their charges are buttressed by a popular
photograph of Crowley in regalia purporting to be a 33rd Degree Scottish
Rite Mason. What's the truth?

In these days of increasingly strict copyright protection
where, in the US at least, companies can claim the right to common phrases even, it's
awfully hard to appreciate that
how multiple and disparate organizations could/can
all use a virtually identical name. Such, however,
is the history surrounding
Freemasonry. Other organizations and individuals took
took the name but, most often,
bastardized the concepts. Sometimes, regrettably, this occurred when someone who had
previously been regularly made a Mason would decide - for whatever reason -
that they could improve on things.

Crowley joined a French Grand Lodge
which was unrecognized by 'mainstream' Freemasonry. In
fact, one of Crowley's well-known writings expresses his great disgust when
he wasn't acknowledged as a Mason by
those in London, his home at the time. Typical of his
ego-centric behavior, he writes that he was far superior to those Masons anyway! Subsequently, he was
ostensibly 'given' a
33rd Scottish Rite degree while traveling in Mexico. Once
again, however, the
organization that 'gave him'
the degree was a spurious one, totally
unrecognized by other Scottish Rite Bodies throughout the world.

In fact, it is an interesting side note to history
that Crowley's ostensible 33rd Degree
recognition had
come from the same expelled Mason who had begun
a thriving industry of duping
people through the purchase of degrees by mail and which ultimately resulted
in the successful prosecution of the very first legal action for mail
fraud in the United States. A further side note is that Crowley's
organization - the OTO - was founded by a person who had joined Freemasonry
but was a member for less than a couple of years before being dropped from
the rolls. You can read a more complete history of the OTO and its
pretended connections with Freemasonry here.

We should add parenthetically that because of the
confusion which always surrounds discussions of 'regularity' and French
Freemasonry, Crowley's Grand Lodge may have had some type of recognition with
some US Grand Lodges as a result of the political situation in France during
World War I. At that time, attempts to find Masonic 'homes' for US servicemen
caused recognition (sometimes for purposes of visitation only) without proper
investigation. Once acknowledged (or recognized), such relationships continued
seemingly through inertia until a more formal body on grand lodge
inter-relationships became more prominent. Arising from this confusion, one
Mason posting on an internet newsgroup has asserted that Crowley should be recognized in
his jurisdiction of Oregon as being legitimately a Mason. We asked that
he obtain an official statement from his Grand Lodge to that effect but needless
to say, it has not been forthcoming. Like much of Crowley's life, claims of
lodge attendance etc. are murky and unverified. They are no less complex than
the convoluted and often contradictory assumptions and claims surrounding
Masonic recognition, de-recognition, and French Freemasonry.

Thomas Hamilton, the murderer of
16 children and their teacher in 1996 in Dunblane,
Scotland. - Incomplete information at the time of this tragedy incorrectly
attributed Masonic membership to Hamilton, perhaps because his grandfather who raised him
after his natural parents had separated had been a Mason for some 40 years or perhaps
because there were many other Thomas Hamiltons in the immediate area, two of whom were
Masons (but both of whom were alive and well, one over 90 years of age). The Grand Master
Mason of Scotland confirmed to British Parliament that neither Hamilton nor DCC McMurdo
(the police official often blamed for Hamilton's continued possession of a gun permit) were ever
Masons.

Of course, denials are useless when
anti-Masons are intent on pushing their hatred. Their answer to the above: "Prove
that he isn't a Mason!"

Our answer is, of course, that we
can't prove a negative so if you assert that he's a Mason, show US the proof -
and not just a bunch of hot air or cries that we're covering things up.

On January
28, 2009, Ervin Lupoe of Wilmington, California (a suburb of Los Angeles) killed his wife
and his five
children. He then committed suicide. He was distraught after both he and his wife
had lost their jobs.
This horrific event took on a Masonic twist when the police revealed that Mr. Lupoe had faxed a letter to a local
television station just minutes before the horrific event occurred. At the
bottom of the typed letter was a hand-written addition as shown on the right.
Those who have been connected to the Masonic fraternity or who searched the web
for just a few seconds would immediately recognize this as being a phrase which
has been used by Masons in their rituals. One Masonic blogger made a post about the senselessness
of it all and shortly thereafter, another Masonic blogger posted a much more
sensationalized commentary broadly suggesting that the individual was a Mason. A
third, perhaps recognizing that the facts did not support the claim of
ostensible Masonic membership, used it as a convenient hook to re-energize his
flagging and recently orphaned blog site. You can read the story
here, a more detailed version
here and see the full note
here.

These bloggers' assumptions were made without any knowledge
whatsoever of the facts and, like the passing along of the tale that President
Obama is a Mason (he's NOT), simply
makes the fraternity look foolish at best and completely uncaring at worst. How
could a Mason let a Brother fall into such a horrid pit? Some bloggers, though,
in an effort to spur 'referral revenue' have - in our opinion - simply put their
fingers in gear before engaging their brain. It doesn't matter what the facts
are, as long as the sensationalism will draw 'hits' it seems.

The simple fact is that Mr. Lupoe has not been shown to be a member of any
regular/recognized Masonic body. The Grand Lodge of California has categorically
stated that he is not a member there and as this page is written, we await
citable confirmation of the same from the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand
Lodge of California.

So why would such a phrase be added to a suicide note? We
believe that when the facts come out there won't be a definite answer. Perhaps -
like others - Mr. Lupoe saw the phrase on the internet. Who knows? Was he
haunted by demons of 'new world order' domination? Did he think everyone who was
'out to get him' was a Mason? We may never know the answers to these
questions.

What can be said is that this tragic and senseless incident
leaves one numb. We've placed the story here, not so much because Mr. Lupoe is
'infamous' - though killing six people would easily qualify for that moniker -
but because, like many other assumptions made about Masonic membership, it's
totally unprovable. Those who lost their lives, particularly the innocent
children, are mourned.

Timothy McVeigh
was convicted of the worst act of domestic
terrorism ever in the United States. He has
been sporadically
mentioned in various anti-Masonic venues as having been a Mason. In fact, a
college student who was preparing a website for a Masonic lodge as part of
their
coursework suggested that we might want to add McVeigh as one of our 'black
sheep'. He actually believed this totally ludicrous claim.

Again we remind readers: it's
essentially impossible to prove a negative. However, let's
look at the facts:

* No one has ever cited a lodge
to which McVeigh
supposedly belonged;

* McVeigh has been described in the press as
(alternatively) an {extremist} "Christian Fundamentalist" and an atheist. Using
either definition, he'd either
self-disqualify or be ineligible for membership.

* He reportedly was a fan of and regular listener
to the William Cooper radio program. Cooper was an avid anti-Mason.

* He reportedly slept with a copy of the
'Turner Diaries' under his pillow. This work contains a reference to Masonry
in a very unfavorable light.

So where did the claim of Masonic membership
arise? We'll bet we
know!

It was first mentioned on the alt.freemasonry
newsgroup on August 25, 1998 when a pseudonym who posted simultaneously under
the name of "Raybert" and "TrueGspl"
was angered by the a list of famous Freemasons and attempted to counter by
listing a cacophony of world dictators, killers, etc. He referred to a "Timothy
Levy". The reply from Mason Floyd Dennis asked if the poster meant McVeigh. You
can read that message
here. Kansan1225 also had made references to McVeigh as a CLuM - some sort
of group who... well, check this page
if you really want to.

The first time that
there was an actual claim to Masonic membership rather than simple trolling was, we
believe, also on the alt.freemasonry newsgroup within a few minutes of McVeigh's execution. A
message posted there from a troll using
the title of "Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Freemasons of North America" made
the claim. Immediate challenge occurred and the poster's online history was only
two days long! However, that's the way USENET works. It was a lie, plainly and simply - and even the
most anti-Masonic person would have to admit how very unlikely it would have
been for a young man such as McVeigh to have aligned himself with a bunch of
people who didn't share either his youth or his anti-governmental ideas. Taking
an oath to support the laws of his country and to try to be better each day is
SO foreign to someone with the types of ideas that McVeigh espoused just 'doesn't wash'.

Santa Anna - Mexican general, president and
politician, known as the Napoleon of the West, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna,
he has been described using many words, most of which are quite
unflattering. He commanded the army which slaughtered the defenders of the
Alamo. Joseph E. Bennett in his excellent work "Masons Along the Rio
Bravo" wrote this about Santa Anna:

"During
this tour of duty in Texas, <at San Antonio de Bexar as a young military
officer of 21 to battle troublesome rebels for the next seven years>
Santa Anna is thought to have become a Scottish Rite (Escoceses) Mason. His Masonic affiliations were tenuous to say the least. No Body or Lodge has ever acknowledged Santa Anna as a member.
His
claim to membership actually depends on the apron he claimed his own, plus
the incidents in which he identified himself by the signs of recognition in
use at that time. If indeed Santa Anna was a Freemason, he was the
most reprehensible example of what one should be." (Brother
Bennett's excellent book is certainly worth reading for the story of the
Alamo defenders, Texas Rangers, and so much more. It was published by the
Grand Lodge of Texas and may be available from them.)

Malachi / Dwight /
Michael Z. York
- You'll find more about him and his 'Fake Masonry' here!

Anyone else you can think
of? Let us know....

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click on "Prince, the Search Dog" to find things on our site. He's on every page
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